HC Deb 17 December 1974 vol 883 cc1344-5
14. Mr. Dodsworth

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will undertake to review the educational facilities in the United Kingdom for the children of British Service men serving abroad.

Mr. Armstrong

No, Sir.

Mr. Dodsworth

Will the Minister accept that this decision will be received with great regret by the parents in the Services serving abroad who have undertaken an educational cost which would not have been necessary had they not been serving their country overseas? Does he agree that there is a disparity between one local authority and another when children and their Service men parents return to this country?

Mr. Armstrong

I know the difficulties. Many Service men serving abroad require boarding education in this country for their childhen, and they encounter difficulties. My Department and the Ministry of Defence are always ready to help. There are certain discretionary grants for local authorities and there are therefore bound to be different systems for different parts of the country, but it is not for my Department to conduct a review.

Mr. Guy Barnett

Does my hon. Friend not accept that there is a shortage of publicly-provided boarding places for the children of parents in the Services or in other jobs that take them about the country or abroad? Would there not be a case for the Department's considering the possibility of taking a certain number of public schools into public ownership in order to provide the places that are required?

Mr. Armstrong

As my hon. Friend indicated, it is true that there are too few boarding places to meet the total need. His latter suggestion is an interesting one, but we have not considered it as yet.